


Frozen Princess

by Celticas



Series: Bushfire [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, Modern Setting, Princess Bride AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:55:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24677290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celticas/pseuds/Celticas
Summary: Pepper Potts knew what she wanted from life. Namely to succeed in Business. For a flicker of a moment she had thought about something else, with someone else. Until they were stolen from her far too soon.Focused in on her goals, she was so close to reaching them when fate tried to deal her a losing hand.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Bushfire [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1603648
Comments: 10
Kudos: 30
Collections: Australian Bushfires





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dixiehellcat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dixiehellcat/gifts).



“Daddy, tell me a story.” Morgan whined. Her blanket pulled up to just under her chin, her nose bright red from the cold that had kept her out of school for the last few days.

The little girl always wanted her Daddy when she wasn’t feeling well and refused to try and sleep unless Tony spun some magical tale. Pepper found it adorable, her little girl and the love of her life curled up together amongst the green and purple room that was a constant design fight between princess’ and robots. Princess’ were currently winning, a new lampshade of the early Disney characters having replaced the shade printed with generic cartoon robots chasing a ball.

“Okay sprocket, what do you want to hear about today?” Tony settled in for the journey.

“You and mommy.” Morgan shuffled across, still burritoed security in seemingly fifteen layers of blankets, until she was wedged securely against her father.

“Hmm, lets see. Once upon a time, a very very long time ago the only child of a horrible king ran away. Roaming the lands for years, he finally settled on a farm in a tiny corner of a kingdom far away from his own. Working for the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, he spent his days covered in dirt and horsey things.” He tweaked her nose, the little girl giggling.

“He was too shy to speak to her though. Every time she told him to do something, all he could say was ‘As you wish’. But secretly his heart was singing his love for her.”

“Tony!” Pepper had to step in. That was not what had happened.

“What?” He grinned up at her, having known she was there the whole time and wouldn’t be able to not step in.

“That is not what happened. “ Pepper settled in on the other side of the sick little girl.

“This is what happened…”

= + =

Pepper shuffled through the school doors trying to muffle the yawns that were fighting to get out. She had been up all night trying to finish the English project that the rest of her team hadn’t done an ounce of work on, leaving it all to her if she had wanted to pass the class. The worst of it was, that she knew that they knew they could get away with it. That the scholarship student couldn’t afford to let her grades drop and would do all the work. It happened any time they were given a group project and she had no choice but to go along every time. 

She was sick of it. Tired of being left to do everything.

The large hall was practically empty, most of the students wouldn’t show up until a few seconds before the starting bell, and some after, and she was exceptionally early. She always was, wanting to get a few hours in the library to get other homework done before the rest of the student body turned up to torment her.

The scuff of a soft shoe sole the first sign that she wasn’t as alone as she had thought. Glancing around she quickly spotted the dark-haired boy sitting on the low bench outside the Principal's Office that was reserved for those in trouble or waiting for their parents. No student wanted to be on that bench.

Eyes almost as dark as his hair flicked up to meet hers. Would this be yet another rich scion to torment her? Judging by the designer bag at his feet, and the unscuffed, real leather shoes on those feet, yes. He was going to be yet another tormenter to add to her daily Sisyphean task.

She would have walked past without another thought, except the Office door opened with a crash and he visibly flinched from the noise, fear filling his dark eyes as he looked up at the well-dressed man emerging from the inner sanctum. Principle Obidiah Stane following him out, the smarmy smirk on his face screaming his satisfaction at whatever deal had just been brokered.

Stane had only been principal at [country from Princess Bride] Academy for a little over a year. If he had been there any longer, Pepper herself wouldn’t be there. He had been slowly but surely chipping away at all of the scholarships and outreach programs since he had taken the role. Upping the requirements for scholarship students to keep their place, all but Pepper had had to leave, making room for more rich entitled layabouts.

“Ah, Virginia. Come here.” Principle Stane called when he caught sight of her lautering in the foyer. 

Pulling her eyes away from the boy finally, she pasted a pleasant smile on her face and crossed the marble, her low heels clicking on the flooring.

“This is Anthony Edward Stark. He will be joining you in year 12. I am sure I can trust you to show him around?”

It was phrased as a question but it wasn’t. There went her morning, baby-sitting.

“Of course sir. Come on.” She kept the false smile on, a defence against whatever was to come.

“Of course.” The boy, Anthony, swung his bag easily onto his shoulder.

The movement told her there was nothing, or almost nothing inside the canvas. Either he hadn’t gotten his school books yet, or he hadn’t bothered to bring them.

“I will see you at Christmas Anthony.” The final man said, voice imperious and uncaring.

“Sure.” Anthony didn’t even turn to look at him, the man who was probably his father.

Unbidden, she felt her smile easing into something a little more real. Silently he followed her up the stairs into the inner depths of the old building. 

= + =

For nine months, Anthony, or Tony as he tentatively told a few people he preferred, edged around life at the school. Everyone knew who he was. The prodigal son of the Stark Family. The great, shining glory. Pepper didn’t see a single ounce of that in him. None of the ego she would have expected. None of the puffed-up self-importance.

The four times they were assigned to the same project, he did his share of the work. It still left Pepper with an overwhelming amount to do on each of them, but he didn’t add to it. Each time she waited for him to realise he didn’t have to pull his weight and dump it all on her, but even seeing Justin Hammer explicitly tell her he wasn’t going to do anything, he still quietly did his work. If she asked him to do something, he responded with a quiet ‘of course’ but otherwise kept to himself. Talking to only a few of their classmates and almost never more than whatever was required to do their schoolwork.

Each time she saw him flinch away or murmur a quiet question or response, her smile became a little more real. Her approaches to him softened.

A month was left before they all moved on. To the Ivy’s, or one of the timeless universities in England or Europe, to take over the reigns of the top companies in the world. Pepper herself had been accepted to Oxford, Yale and Stanford. She had decided to stay on the West Coast and was signed up for Stanford in the fall.

The thought of leaving saddened her. It wasn’t something she had been accepting. For four years she had been counting the seconds until she could walk out of those doors for the final time. But now, as she sat in the cafeteria and watching Anthony Stark make himself as unnoticable as possible in the far corner of the room, she found she didn’t want to leave. The sympathy for the other boy had grown into something more, past affection and into true caring.

Stuffing her book into her bag, she crossed the room. Making enough noise so that he would know she was coming but not so much as to draw other, unwanted, attention.

“Hi.” She slid into the chair across from his.

“Hello.” His eyes flicked up and then quickly away. 

“I was wondering. Prom is next weekend. Are you planning on going?” Until three minutes ago, she had had zero intention of attending the dance. But having a final chance to actually get to know the person hidden inside the scared shell that was Tony Stark sounded like a much much better option.

“Um, maybe?” He straightened a little in his chair, watching her for what she wasn’t sure.

“Would you like to go today?” She kept her face and voice soft, undemanding.

“Of course.”

The two words she had heard from him so often had a different ring to them that time. As if it wasn’t just yes to that question, that request, but to every one she would have in the future. A bright smile bloomed across both their faces, if any of their classmates had been looking at their little corner, they would have seen something they all thought impossible, the poor kid and the unfeeling king showing emotion.


	2. Chapter 2

A single night. One single night of happiness before it all went wrong. Pepper would always remember the smell of the lilys the were spilling out of their vases onto the perfectly pressed linen tablecloths. The feel of the cool satin against her overheated skin. The warm press of Tony’s lips against hers as they danced under the glittering universe. 

They had plans. She was going to be working at her parent convenience store for the summer until they both left for University, but she would have weekends free. Trips to the beach or the mountains. Movies and dinners to fill the long summer days. And then they would write and call and text. She wasn’t going far, but he had accepted a place in Oxford, as far from his family’s long shadow could put him without compromising his learning.

It hadn’t taken her long to recognise the thirst for knowledge hiding under the shy exterior. It called out to the same curiosity and determination within her.

But it wasn’t to be.

The day after prom, they met in a small dinner down the street from the school they never had to return to. The smile from hte night before was missing from Tony’s face when he pushed through the door, the little bell tinkling a welcome. Pepper dismissed the ill feeling that settled like a stone in her gut. He wasn’t, he wouldn’t. They had just found each other and she had thought they were so insync.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled.

Oh, god.

“My dad turned up this morning. He, he says.” His voice cracked, his heart was breaking as much as hers was. “I have to either go work at SI for the summer or go straight to school. Oxford has summer classes.” He had buried his face in his hands, unwilling to look up at her, see the sadness and anger that had overcome him at his father’s unannounced appearance and horrible ultimatum. He couldn’t tell her that part though, that she had been threatened. Apparently good old Howard Stark had been waiting for something to use as leverage to make Tony ‘take his rightful place in the world’. 

“You don’t have to do what he says. Get a job, my parents need an extra hand. And, and…” She didn’t know enough about his situation to be able to advise or predict what he was going to do. Didn’t have enough information to extrapolate from.

“I’m sorry.” He straightened, his decision made. “It won’t be that different from what we talked about. We can still call and write, hopefully I’ll be back at Christmas or you can come and join me.”

He was going. He was going halfway across the world and leaving her behind. He was also right, they could stay in contact. Be there for each other.

“Okay. Okay. When do you leave? How long do we have?”

= + =

Pepper stood just outside the security gates and watched him disappear into the crowd. They had had two weeks. Her parents quietly cancelled her shifts and sent them out into the world. Every second except when they had slept they had been together. Long hot days splashing in the Californian sun and surf. Endless cool nights watching shooting stars or hiding from sporadic rain at the movies. 

It was a time that would always have a golden hue in her memory, more laughter-filled those two weeks than the last four years, and she would be forever grateful for that time. But it still ended. A grey chill settling over her as her final sight of him, turning back to wave sadly at her, was swallowed by the jostling of the other people.

She sat on the hood of her car until his plane was lost in the blue haze of the sky. She sat on the hood of her car for a long time after as well, the sun setting in a blaze of red and orange, giving way to the anaemic blue of a night sky washed out by too many city lights.

= + =

Evening sunlight streaked the new carpet of the pristine office, turning the creamy white golden. Pepper loved it. It was a mark of how far she had come. How far she had pulled her family from a single convenience store to a second store, and then a chain. Pushing and pulling and making connections with the right people in the right places at the right time. Even while working towards her bachelors and then her MBA, she had worked. In five years she had transformed her life.

The schoolmates who had ridiculed her wouldn’t recognise the successfully, perfectly poised businesswoman. 

In the few, rare quiet moments the depth of her heart still stung though. Wishing for a future that would never be. She had worked so hard to forget. Filling the void  _ he _ had left with study and savvy business moves. In the chaos of movement she could forget the headlines that still ran, never ending, in her sleep. 

Dwelling wouldn’t bring him back from the dead though.

She had to keep looking forward, even if closing off her heart had earnt her a new slew of unsavioury nicknames, the nicest of which was cold-hearted. They had served her well.

“Pepper. Sweetheart.” Her mom’s voice broke her absentminded contemplation of the refurbished office. Her office as CFO of the family company that she had built. Her father was CEO in name only. It was her brains and determination that had driven the growth, but what would a twenty-something woman know about business, she silently scoffed to herself.

No, it wouldn’t do to be ungrateful. She enjoyed her work even if she didn’t have the title to go with it.

“Yes, mom?” The often employed faux smile was getting as much use now as it had in her school days.

“You won’t believe who just left your Dad’s office.” The older woman settled into the visitor’s chair. “Archibald Hammer! He wants to talk about a partnership.”

“Hammer?” Pepper had only been half paying attention, more focused on the odd numbers she was seeing in the next quarter’s projections. “What about Hammer, Mom?”

Hammer Industries was one of the largest agro-business’ in North America. On paper, a deal with them would be a massive windfall for the fledgeling Potts Enterprises. But Pepper remembered Justin from school. The boy had taken every shortcut he could find and barely bothered to hide it. She didn’t doubt that he did the same at work, or even worse had learnt it there.

Seething in remembered dislike, she missed what her mom was saying. “No.” She interrupted. “I don’t care. Whatever it is no.”

Slamming the keys of her keyboard, she locked her computer and swept out of the officer, her mom caught in her wake.

“PEPPER!” David Potts, her father and supposed boss, met her halfway between their offices. “You’ll never guess who I just had a meeting with.” His wide grin said it all for him.

“Hammer.”

“How did you know? Beverly, did you tell her? I wanted it to be a surprise. Oh well. We’ve got a deal! Exclusive distribution of their newest products and Archie has agreed to take you under his wing with his own son. Help you learn the ropes of the business and what not! Isn’t that excellent!” He beamed at her.

She didn’t have any words. None. Her mind was blank at the implications and implied insult to her abilities. She was doing just fine. Better than fine. She was fan-fucking-tastic without fucking Hammer telling her what to do!

= + =

Nothing she did could stop the trainwreck that was about to take over her life. It was all organised. Her ‘internship’ at Hammer (read: once again doing all of Justin’s work for him), the deal with Potts Grocers. All of it. And no one could see how angry she was. How much she absolutely hated every second of it.

For five years, and longer really, she had been shutting down any suggestion of emotion. Not letting anyone close enough to be able to read her. Habits were hard enough to break, but this one was impossible. So donning, her thickest Ice Queen armour, she marched willingly and open-eyed to her demise. Why bother fighting it? There wasn’t anything better waiting anywhere else. She could see the rest of her life rolling out before her; her soulmate dead at 18, her business absorbed at 23, and her name becoming nothing but another cheap commodity of the Hammer line of products soon after.

Her single reprieve from it all, was her weekly Sunday brunches at the old diner, where the start of her world falling apart had started. The staff knew her, and left her mostly alone, drifting by to fill her coffee cup or drop off a new muffin flavour for her to try.

Three weeks before the newest disaster started, found her in her booth a cup of coffee forgotten at her elbow, and a half-eaten plate of french toast pushed aside. There had to be a better option. Something that would tempt her dad away from this poisoned apple…

There had been rumours of an angel investor that would step in at the oddest times. The story changed each time she heard it whispered. Once it was to stop a tiny family business from going under when the Grandfather had died before passing on his skills, the angel investor had stepped in and funded the granddaughters trip to study in Italy. The next it had been a multi-national conglomerate who had backed the wrong horse, the angel investor had paid for the fines with conditions that certain of the board had stepped down. On and on it went. Each time different, from one-person outfits, to global superpowers. The only similarity was that they were asked to intervene and they never helped in the same way twice or with the same conditions. 

Would this qualify? And how would she even get in touch with them? She knew nothing about whoever it was….

Something was niggling at her. The first story. The carpenter. Hadn’t Arthur from her accounting class told her that story, slipping in pompously that he knew the granddaughter and had even met the investor very briefly in passing. Yes.

She didn’t have Arthur’s number, they had never been friendly let alone friends, but he and Cheryl had dated for a while sophomore year. She would still have his number.

Waiting for someone to answer the phone was interminable. The dull ring-ring-ring seemed to echo in her skull. 

“Pepper, how are you?” Cheryl finally answered, voice as cheerful as ever.

Pepper had always marveled at how open with her thoughts and feelings the other woman was, and that admiration and a slight sting of jealousy only grew as Cheryl had gone out and began conquering the business world. It didn’t seem fair that for Pepper to get the same success she had to lock away those parts of herself.

“Hello Cheryl. I’m in a bit of a bind actually and wanted to ask for some help.” She got right to the point, the little patience she had for small talk shrinking in direct proportion to how close Hammer was to getting their slimy claws into her company.

“Of course! What can I do?” The other woman changed course quickly, strictly business.

“I actually only need Arthur’s number?”

“Arthur? Why? You two hate each other.” Cheryl scoffed.

“I know, but remember that story of the carpenter?” Apparently she wasn’t going to get out of the small talk to get what she needed.


	3. Chapter 3

An arcane series of chinese whispers had followed. Cheryl had happily given up Arthur’s number along with a wish of luck. Arthur, once she had phrased the request in such a way as to suggest he was ‘saving’ her, had smuggly put her in contact with Megan Rossi the newly returned Master Carpenter.

Megan had been more cagey. Unwilling to give out any more information than Pepper already had, that a person had invested in her family company and she was repaying the debt along with a promise to pay the help forward in lieu of interest. All she would do was promise to pass on her request for help and the rest would be up to the person on the other end of the potential deal.

Now she just had to wait. Anxiously. Each day seeing the probable destruction of what she had been working for getting closer and closer, waiting on something that may never happen. 

Two weeks and change. She was barely able to concentrate any more. More than once she had found herself sitting at her desk, staring off into space turning options over in her head that wouldn’t do anything to help except provide the false hope of control.

The shrill ringing of her office phone jolted her from that hazy place of what ifs.

“Pepper Potts.” 

“Ms Potts. You asked for my help?” The voice was garbled. Not just from a bad line but some sort of mechanical or technical attachment. “Megan passed on your request. I’m inclined to help…” They left it hanging. An implication that they weren’t completely on board.

“Why?” She almost added that no one ever wanted to help, not her. But the ghost of a dark haired boy caught the words before they could leave her mouth.

“I’m the one that needs to be convinced.” The words were harder, no question softening the end of the sentence this time. A demand for information.

“Of course.” She tried to settle him. “ _ I _ built this company. It was my parent’s and they were happy to keep it a small corner store. We don’t need the help that Hammer is offering and in the long run it will only hurt us.”

“But why should  _ I _ help? Just tell your parents.”

She wasn’t sure, but it sounded like the person on the other end of the phone was smirking, laughing at her. It didn’t help that she couldn’t answer him. The answer was she had tried and they didn’t listen, they didn’t understand. But even in her head that sounded too much like a child’s whine rather than a grown woman’s explanation.

“I want this business to succeed. To grow. Without the manipulation or interference of others. It is my family’s legacy. My legacy.” She felt the words out carefully, a minefield that a single mis-step could blow up her whole future. A depth of emotion coming through that she normally struggled to show. “We are doing good things and I want to  _ continue _ to do good things.” From the day her father had started the store, he had helped out those who had needed it. Food hampers for families that were struggling. Properly paid jobs for people without documentation.

“Okay.”

And that was it. The dead air of the phone a sucking void in her ear. Had it been enough? Was it ‘okay, I will help’, or ‘okay, have a nice life’?

No answer was forthcoming.

= + =

Pepper rushed into the office. Traffic had been awful, she had spilt her coffee on her favourite blouse, and that single stupid word was still circling around and around in her head. ‘Okay’. Okay what? Damn it.

The place was in chaos. The staff scuttling from desks to meeting rooms to offices to other departments. The corners of the rooms filled with whispering secretaries. 

“Miss Potts.” Peter hurried across when he saw her. “Miss Potts, they’re all meeting in the conference room.” Her EA led the way through the mob.

“All who Mr Parker?” She kept up with him easily. One day he would easily out-pace her, but he was still learning to manage his gangly limbs.

“Mr Potts, Mrs Potts, Mr Hammer the older one. And a Mr Jarvis?” He passed a tablet over with a picture of a distinguished older man opened on one side of the screen. She sped read through the rest of the information. 60’s, British, educated but not in any area that would bring him to Potts Enterprises.

“Who is he?” She asked, pausing just outside the glass doors. Parker was young, barely out of highschool, but he was perceptive. Often sensing things about people that made things become crystal clear for Pepper.

“A middleman. A lot to offer, but not actually the one offering it.” He pushed the door open to let her in.

“Thank you Peter.” She swept past him. 

“Mr Jarvis. Virginia Potts.” She offered a hand that was quickly encased in the dry warmth of the gentleman’s hand.

“Ms Potts. Lovely to meet you.” His smooth accent was an immediate indication of his background.

“You too. Although, I am wondering why we are meeting?”

“Pepper! Please.” Her father broke in. “I’m so sorry Mr Jarvis. Pepper has always been more forward than polite.” He glared at her behind the other man’s back.

“Quite alright Mr Potts. I did spring this on you all a little.” Mr Jarvis was more gracious, and subtle, than her dad. “Miss Potts, my… employer has taken an interest in your company and wishes to offer a… partnership shall we say. However, there are terms that would need to be discussed post haste.” He pulled out a chair for her and wheeled it back under the table when she sat.

David hurried to do the same for her mom, and then sat himself.

“I work for an angel investor who is interested in working with ethical companies. Organisations that are paying what they have back into their communities. They were approached recently…”

Oh god. Pepper stifled the gasp of understanding. This wasn’t just an angel investor, this was  _ the _ angel investor. The ‘okay’ had been agreement. Mr Jarvis’ words were a blur of smooth vowels and curling consonants.

“Their one condition was that you were not in any partnerships that they considered, unethical or questionably moral. I believe you are about to enter into a partnership with Hammer Inc? If that deal was to go ahead, we would not be able to invest in your company. Thank you.”

There was a chart of financial terms and conditions on the screen behind Mr Jarvis, Pepper realised as she tuned back in.

“Thank you Mr Jarvis. We’ll discuss the offer and get back to you.” David ushered Mr Jarvis out of the room.

“What a load of bullshit.” He grumbled when he returned. “No one with two sense offers those terms unless they are an idiot or a con-man. And! And coming in here and telling us who we can go into business with? No.” He pushed the file Mr Jarvis had given him away, across the table.

“Dad. Stop.” Pepper straightened the small centrepiece he had knocked askew. “I have heard of this investor. It’s a good deal.”

= + =

It only took her a day to change her dad’s mind. It only took Arthur coming in and doing a presentation that Pepper knew was going to cost her some time in the future. There went her dignity. The smirk on the man’s face said it all.

Mr Jarvis came back in to sign the paperwork. The large wooden boardroom table ended up covered with drifts of paper.

“And is your mysterious employer going to be joining us?” David asked, slightly sullen. He had agreed to the change of deal, but wasn’t sold on the man behind the curtain.

“Unfortunately they were called out of the country on business.”


	4. Chapter 4

The next few months were good for Potts Enterprises. Their existing stores growing in popularity, local producers clamouring to be added to their lines. And the first store in a city being approved and in a few short months prepp-ed to be opened. The Berkley shop was bigger by far than any of their others. Bigger than the first four stores combined.

The weeks leading up to the opening were as stressful as the weeks leading up to the Hammer deal that had fallen through. But instead of the unhappy pall that had hung over her six months ago, she had to cut her caffeine intake in half to stop herself from buzzing out of her skin. Her dad had finally backed off, letting her show what she was capable of. Or at least Mr Jarvis running everything through her forced him to see.

Organising the opening and large social function they were partnering with it for the new Potts Community Scholarship Fund was a task and a half. She needed it to be perfect. If this failed, it would fail with a nationwide audience. It couldn’t fail.

“Parker! Do you have the RSVP list?” She called out to her EA.

With all of the work they had to do, the young man, who was only a few years younger than her but felt infinitely younger, was barely at his desk.

“Yes Ms Potts! Here you go Ms Potts!” An email pinged into her inbox  _ FWD: Guest List _ . 

“Thank you Mr Parker.”

Quickly scanning the list she saw that everyone who had been invited had accepted, the mysterious angel investor could pull out all the big names. A bolded addition halfway down caught her eye. Mr Edwin Jarvis, Mrs Anna Jarvis,  **and Guest** . ‘And Guest’? Who were they bringing at such short notice? They could of course. Mr Jarvis had been a consummate professional and his wife was nothing short of angelic. They could bring a hundred people and she would gladly accommodate them, but she had talked to Mr Jarvis only two days ago and he had said it would just be him and Anna. David had grumbled about it for the rest of the day, still too curious about their anonymous business partner.

She was dialing the phone before she realised she had picked it up.

“Edwin Jarvis speaking.”

“Mr Jarvis. I just received the updated guest list. I just wanted to confirm and see if there was anything else you or your guest would need?” She asked.

“Miss Potts, really after all this time, I think you can call me Edwin.” Mr Jarvis offered, again.

It wasn’t going to happen, especially not while he still called her Miss Potts, but she also hadn’t gotten the courage to offer her first name back.

“I am sorry about the late notice. My friend has been out of the country and I did not expect him back in time but his plans changed.” He was apologetic without actually apologising. It was a handy skill that Pepper was a little jealous of. “And we will be fine with the current arrangements.”

“Of course. It’s no problem. But please if there is anything I can do…” She let the sentence drift off, mirroring his unspoken nuance.

“Of course.” He echoed her, a smile in his voice.

They hung up without goodbyes, mutually understanding that they were both too busy for the small, pointless niceties.

= + =

The day of the big opening dawned to clear skies and a perfect forecast. Pepper had been up since dawn, and at the site an hour later, second cup of coffee in one hand and check list in the other. Everything was ready but she couldn’t settle, sure that something was wrong, or left unfinished. 

Peter wasn’t far behind her, his own coffee and file in hand.

“Miss Potts.” He stumbled to a stop just inside the door. “Um… I, uh…”

“It’s okay Peter. A feeling that something has been missed?” She chuckled. “I feel exactly the same.” She assured him at his hesitant nod.

“I don’t  _ actually _ think there is anything wrong though.” He had to laugh himself.

“No, I don’t think so either. Come on, let’s go and get something to eat.” She ushered him back outside into the warming sun, locking the building behind them.

Over more coffee and pancakes they talked. Not as boss and subordinate, but just as two young people making tentative connections with a possible friend. Pepper learnt that Peter was paying his way through night school for photography, and told him about being a scholarship student. She told him stories that she had only ever told Tony. It was nice. Easy.

The hours between their ridiculously early start and when they actually needed to be at work flew by.

“Oh my!” Pepper jumped from her seat. She hadn’t realised how late it had gotten. “We have to go.” Dropping some bills that would cover their meal plus a good bit more onto the table.

The new shop had changed dramatically since they had been there earlier in the day. A veritable army of people swarmed around the building. Her mom was lording it over them all, dictating the flow of caterers, furniture removalists, a pair of photographers, and a grab bag of others.

“Pepper! Pepper sweetheart.” Beverly waved her over. “Sweetheart, I would have thought you would have beaten us all here.” She laughed. In anyone else it would have sounded judgemental, but it was loving from her mom. She had always understood Pepper’s need to excel, it was something they shared.

“We did. But it was barely dawn and I thought that was a little excessive.” She waved back at Peter where he had dived into mediating a stoush between the caterers and the photographers. “What still needs to be done?”

“Everything.” Beverly sighed. The twinkle in her eye belied her answer though. Everything was well in hand, and they both knew it.

Laughing they got to work.

= + =

By just after eleven everything was set and the first guests were arriving. Pepper was standing in the shadows just inside the door watching the crowd. This was it, the true beginning of the rest of her life. The start of Potts Enterprises as more than just a few corner stores.

All of the people out there were colleagues, some were also rivals. The human part of her that she tried to ignore as much as possible, wanted there to be a friend out there. Someone that was there to support her, not the business.

The silvered hair of Mr Jarvis beside the still raven black hair of his wife stood out. A glimpse of a possible future friendship. If she could allow herself to unbend just a little and accept the offered hand.

Maybe after today. After everything went well. She smiled to herself, vague images of a less cold future to look forward to.

A third person joined the older couple. His dark chocolate hair glinting with highlights of red in the sun. Something about the person sparked a memory, a pang of pain followed as she shoved thoughts of Tony back into the past where they belonged. Just because the Jarvis’ guest reminded her of her lost love, didn’t mean she had the time to lose it.

The stranger glanced up, seeming to look directly at her even though she knew he couldn’t see her in the deep shadows. Large, dark sunglasses obscured most of his face, but the shape of his mouth and nose struck the same memory. But it couldn’t be. Tony had died more than five years ago along with two hundred and fifty six other people when the plane taking him away from her had disappeared into the ocean during a storm.

She couldn’t do this. Not today. For months after the crash as the ocean was criss-crossed by searching boats, she had kept a strangle hold on hope. Waiting, a second away from her world falling apart completely for word that they had found the wreckage and Tony had been identified. The confirmation had never come and as Summer had slipped into Fall and then Winter, she had slowly released hold inch by painful inch. THe pain had felt like it had burnt out every other emotion she could feel.

No.

Pulling herself together, she straightened to her full height and rocked forward on her stilettos. She was Pepper God-Damned Potts and she could do this.

Stepping out into the bright sunlight, she blinked the tears away. A graceful smile on her face. She nodded greetings at the people in the first two rows that she knew more than in passing.

“Welcome to this auspicious occasion…” She started, the words she had slaved over to get right flowing easily. Carefully she didn’t look in the direction of where the Jarvis’ were sitting.

The presentation went flawlessly.

Everyone was clamouring to talk to her after it had finished. The crowd moved from the slightly too warm midday sun, to the cooler shade of the store. Reporters wanted a unique soundbite, classmates wanted to tell her they had always known she would be great, business partners and rivals wanted to bask in the reflected glory.

Patiently Pepper greeted them all. Taking the time with each of them. Anything to delay the inevitable. But she couldn’t keep it up forever. Finally, she had to wind her way through the gathering to Mr and Mrs Jarvis, and their guest.

“Mr Jarvis. Anna. How are you? Was it okay?” Their opinion was the only ones she actually cared about.

“You were splendid!” Anna pulled her into a tight hug. It was slightly awkward, Anna was a good head shorter than Pepper and had pulled her down to her height. “We are so proud of you.” She was finally let go.

“Thank you.” Pepper squeezed Anna’s hand before letting their hands drop. “Thank you both.” She turned to Mr Jarvis. “This wouldn’t have happened without you. And your employer.” She tacked on.

He chuckled. “True.”

“Am I ever going to meet this mysterious person?” She had never asked before and had done her best to head off her father’s enquiries. But just the once she couldn’t help herself. Aside from the stranger reminding her too much of Tony, the day had gone spectacularly well. 

“Jarvis! Have you tried the scones? They’re almost better than yours!” A man called out from behind her.

God, no.

She knew that voice, just like she had known that face. She couldn’t hide from it any more. Tony hadn’t died six years ago.

She was going to be sick.

How? Why? Why hadn’t he come back to her? Were all of her memories wrong? The dreams of what could have been, were they all built upon lies and mis-remembered moments?

She wasn’t strong enough to face this. Not now. Maybe not ever.

“Excuse me.”

She ran.


	5. Chapter 5

A red hatchback pealed out of the parking lot. Arriving so ridiculously early had it’s advantages when running away from ghosts apparently. She didn’t know where she was going. Just away. As far away as her tank of gas would take her. Pulling onto a freeway heading north, she rolled the windows down and pulled lung fulls of salt laden air into her lungs. Letting it slowly relax each muscle in her body.

This was stupid. She didn’t ask herself why she was so upset, she knew the answer to that. Tony was the only time Pepper had allowed herself to open up to someone, let herself think about the softer parts of life. What was stupid is after years of controlling her emotions with an iron fist, she was losing it, in front of people.

Slowing down at the next off-ramp, she wound through the quaint streets of a sleepy holiday town. A diner was at the end of the road, an old wooden balcony looking out over the sparkling Pacific Ocean as it crashed into the unforgiving cliffs.

“One coffee please.” She chose a seat as far away from the few other patrons as possible.

The sun crept along the horizon as she nursed her coffee, and eventually picked at a raspberry muffin. As the sky finally darkened to night she had herself back under control. Ready to face whatever was waiting for her back in Berkley.

= + =

A car she didn’t recognise was idling outside her apartment building. The windows were tinted too dark to see who the driver or passengers were, but she knew who it was.

Coasting to a stop, she parked and went over to tap on the window.

“Do you want to come up?”

Sitting across from him after all this time was surreal. Mouth, nose,  _ eyes _ were the same. A twinkle of knowledge, of maturity lurked in the back of the chocolate brown eyes that hadn’t been there last time.

“I own you an apology.” He hadn’t met her gaze yet. Staring into the depths of the mug of tea she had made him.

“I don’t want an apology. I want an explanation.” She wasn’t going to demand anything from him, but he had come to her.

“The plane went down.” He started without trying to talk around the subject, much more direct than six years ago. “I thought I was going to die. But then I woke up. I was in a hospital in fucking Palau. Can you believe it? Palau, with all of 18 thousand people, and I had no idea who I was or where I had come from. The police officer, slash post man, slash fisherman had found me on his way out one morning. Washed up on the beach.” His eyes flicked up to meet hers and then away again, checking that she was listening, or believed him. She wasn’t sure.

“I stayed there for almost a year. There was an English man who lived there. Mr Pennyworth. He did this thing, angel investing. But always anonymously, and always for good causes. It was just about helping people. He had money, but not as much as I eventually realised I had. Slowly, fragments of memory started coming back. When I realised who I was, I reached out to Jarvis, he was my family’s butler when I was growing up. More of a dad than Howard Stark ever was. With Jarvis and Alfred’s help, I took over. Adding the Stark money to Pennyworth’s.”

Howard Stark had died two years after Tony had gone missing, Pepper knew, but she hadn’t realised the Stark fortune was still together and able to be claimed.

“How did you get access to your money without the press finding out?” It sounded mercenary, but if anyone had come forward to claim that money, the world would have heard about it.

He shrugged, unconcerned. “It all went to Jarvis when dear old dad died. When he found out I was alive and what I wanted to do with it, he gladly gave it back. No muss, no fuss.” His grin was cocky.

She could accept all of that. Understand his want, or need, to do something good with his family’s money. Pepper tried to keep the final question in. Tried to bite her tongue.

“And me?” It slipped out.

Wincing, he looked away again. Uncomfortable tension creeping back in.

“I was going to, to tell you. Once I remembered you.” His wince deepened.

That sounded bad and they both knew it.

“Sorry. I came back. Found you at Stanford. You were happy.” He said, voice plaintively. “You were out to dinner with some guy. Blonde, tall.”

Sam. He was talking about Sam. They had gone out on one date. Forcing herself to put herself back out there, she had accepted when he asked her to dinner. It had been… pleasant. He had talked about his family back home in Ohio, she had talked about the family store. They had been painfully polite and parted ways on friendly terms. As far as she knew, he had gone back to Akron and married his highschool sweetheart.

“I didn’t want to fuck up your life again.” 

“My life was already fucked.” She said as quietly as he had been speaking. “I’d lost you.”

Without warning, he pushed away from the table, standing to pace the length of her living room.

In the half-light of the room, she hadn’t bothered to turn too many lights on, only the kitchen downlights when she was making tea, it was difficult to see the expression on his face. But the shivering tension on his shoulders told a whole story on their own. He was fighting with himself, about past decisions, or future ones she wasn’t sure.

Twisting the cup around and around on the table in front of her, she waited.

Between one second and the next, his shoulders and back relaxed. Spinning, he strode across the room, hands rising to gently cup her face. He searched her eyes for a second before leaning down and claiming her lips in a burning kiss…

“Daddy! Help!” Morgan squealed, giggling.

Pepper had swooped down and peppered her face in tiny kisses, re-enacting the scene between herself and Tony when everything had gotten back on track. It hadn’t been smooth sailing after, but they had gotten there eventually. Rebuilding a life they had both thought was beyond reach.

“What? Like this?” Tony flipped up the tail of Morgan’s pajama shirt and blew a loud raspberry on the wriggling girl’s stomach.

She was giggling too much to protest again.

The small family ended up curled around each other on the small bed.

“And you're both happy?” Morgan asked, a yawn splitting the sentence in half.

“Always.”

“Ecstatically.”


End file.
